Hooligan ? That's a nice compliment in my world If he was to call me posh, or a snob now that would be a bloody insult.
Come off it, faulty English? He has lived in this country for 45 years and I believe he was educated at the university here. Sorry, but he knows full well what he implied.
He speaks great English with an Egyptian accent. It's an easy card to play to try and conveniently shy away from what was said.
Hopefully most people will see it that way and give him the benefit of the doubt. This situation is emotive and divisive as it is, we don't need personal insults and inflammatory statements from either side. Ultimately we don't want him to feel we're against him because we're not, however anymore statements like that and the emphasis will shift from anti-name change to anti-Allam quickly and that won't end well for any of us!
It's all about opinions and in normal circumstances I imagine supporters would give the club owner the benefit of the doubt, however as we all know these aren't normal circumstances and I can see why some people want to get the maximum mileage out of it.
Interesting, no response to what I wrote. What he said in the interview was plain. He doesn't want supporters that sing City Till I Die at his club and in his stadium. He thinks it his club, it isn't he's just the current custodian. Its our club and will be until we decide when to leave.
If Mr Allam feels he's been mis-quoted by the press,he'll be eager to put the record straight via a press statement suggesting he didn't expressly say he wanted City fans to "die",merely to leave the club.... Because if i or anyone else was in his shoes,I wouldn't want to be labelled as a football club owner who wished death on his supporters through a mis-quote or a misunderstanding in an interview. If Mr Allam isn't that bothered about being mis-quoted,with most of the national press running that IoS story,then you have to assume that was the context he was alluding to. It's now Wednesday,and nothing has emerged from the club to suggest Mr Allam was mis-quoted in that interview,other than an assumption from Steve Bruce. Draw your own conclusions.
Steve Bruce very poignantly called for a resolution to the situation. It's a smart comment, whereby remaining neutral himself and in effect calling for some bridge-building to take place.
That's a very good point, well made and I can't fault your logic. However you also have to appreciate that personalities come into this and unfortunately Mr. Allam comes over as a very stubborn, short-tempered man who is likely to just say "To hell with them. Let them think what they like." Especially if he feels he has been publicly embarrassed due to problems in translation.
Why would he be embarrassed when he knows exactly what he said? Seriously, you're making excuses for a man who conducts a very successful business in this country, he was educated to degree standard at Hull University and has lived here for 45 years? Craig you are living in a dream world if you think he didn't know exactly what he said and how it was meant.
GLP try to keep the discussion civilised. It's better for everyone if it doesn't get personal. I'm only giving the owner the benefit of the doubt which I think many on here also want to do. My point is that if he did say something incorrectly and was embarrassed by the reaction of the media and others, he is the type of proud and stubborn character to go on the defensive and refuse to comment further. Anyway I have to nip out for a few hours so don't read into any lack of response.
Well, if the press have misconstrued what he has said then he'll take them to task over it, won't he? After all it's not left him looking too great. But I guess we'll have a long wait. We are dealing with factual information that was printed in a well respected newspaper. Until otherwise informed by a statement from the club, then the assumption is he made those comments.
